Need a little moral support (and tea and sympathy)

nettie63

Hi all,
As I said in my introduction some four months back, I am almost 50, and have been paraplegic all my life. As a youngster I was very active, competing in parasports at national level (under 18's). But ten yrs ago I developed arthritis in my shoulders (not surprising as my arms had done the work of my legs for four decades!). So, I ended up having to use a motorised wheelchair for all outdoor activities. Since then I have put on a lot of weight. Gone from 118 lbs to 152lbs. Now, I am stuggling to remain independant because transferring is becoming so difficult, and the strain on my shoulders is even greater. I've tried other diets but they all required a lot of exercise, too, and I am very limited in what I can do. Playing ping pong on the Wii every morning is about it

My calorie intake is not enormous. I've used the myfitnesspal app for quite some time, and looking at my eating habits I only take in around 1100 per day. But most of that is from liquids: fizzy drinks, coffee, juice. I realise that this is not good as they are all empty calories (with the exception of the juice), and that I'd been kidding myself about my intake because I generally only eat once per day.

So, after seeing the Horizon prog on intermittant fasting I decided to give it a go. It was working really well and in three months I'd lost 10lbs, but then my stupid health issues reared their ugly heads (like the Hydra, I have many!) and I ended up in hospital for a month. Whilst in there, because of boredom, feeling sorry for myself and the loving concenr of my family, I ended up having food shipped in to me on the ward. Mainly the dreaded Mc D, KFC, Chinese takeaway etc. I came out of hospital with a night time ventilator machine and (exactly) the 10lbs I'd worked so hard to lose!

I am so cross and fed up, too. I hate the stupid bipap machine/mask I have to wear every night. I want to comfort eat, but know that will only make my breathing even worse. So, I'm back on the IF 5;2 diet, and intend in a couple of weeks to step it up to 5:3, taking vitamin supplemments on the days I fast.

But in the summer I had a goal of losing my 20 lbs by Christmas...